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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Fashion lifeline by Joe Zee
Rosie's viewers top Oprah on OWN TV launch
Four new faces to bring a fresh look to Asia’s first HD lifestyle TV channel

Posted: 12 Oct 2011 12:42 AM PDT

Style guru Joe Zee helps struggling designers refocus and build up viable businesses in the new reality fashion series.

ALL On The Line (AOTL) is the Kitchen Nightmares of fashion. Much like the latter, in which celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay spends every week trying to revive failing restaurant businesses, AOTL host Joe Zee guides struggling designers to refocus their creativity into career-making hits.

But expect none of Ramsay's showy brutality from Zee, who is a noted fashion guru and the creative director for Elle magazine. In place of frying (and flying) pans, Kitchen's fashion counterpart features the immaculate and articulate Zee in a crisp, fitted suit on almost every occasion.

And unlike Ramsay's fiery tendency to whip up a storm, Zee radiates finesse and sensibility while attempting to add some styling pizzazz into fashion flip-flops.

The comely 42-year-old, who has appeared in reality TV shows like The City and Stylista, takes audiences through the intricacies of the fashion business, from the designing process to making smart business decisions.

In the pilot, he helps a husband-and-wife team make an impression with their flailing collection in an already saturated market.

The New York Times calls Zee "fashion's approachable ambassador". Indeed, Zee is known for his affable demeanour. Here, he assumes the role of a supportive mentor rather than the quintessential fashion slave-driver.

His unconventionally mild approach stems from his struggles in the industry, he says. "When I first started interning in this industry, I worked with people that were horrible, absolutely terrible," he tells The New York Times.

"I thought, when I become a boss, I'm never going to be that person where people are going to work for me out of fear.

"I'll roll up my sleeves and pick up a trunk, and I'll roll it down the hall with my assistant."

That said, Zee reduces an aspiring Indonesian designer to tears when he demands that she speak up about her brand despite her limited command of the English language.

Even a more experienced designer like Kara Janx, who appeared on the second season of Project Runway, isn't spared from the brunt of Zee's blatancy when her line faces a moment of crisis. Juggling the roles of business consultant-cum-shrink, he helps Janx revamp her stalled collections so they may be picked up by departmental store buyers.

It's not a drama-free spree, but Zee does get his points across, even if they get in the way of the designers' egos. It's a feat that the charming host manages to pull off by striking a rare, delicate balance between churning constructive criticism and empathising with his subjects while he attempts to rescue their careers.

I particularly like how Zee takes the time and trouble to talk to the everyday man and woman in the street, or at the gym to find out about the kind of outfits they want to wear. Not all of us can pull off that bizarre, barely-there look that runway models can, after all.

The Hong Kong-born designer, who first stepped into the industry at age 22, also speaks fluent sarcasm. "This looks like cocktail on a budget – when you're on a budget, you don't go for cocktail," he says as he addresses a rather shabby-looking party dress in one episode.

Most notably, AOTL encourages aspiring designers to push the boundaries of fashion and to dare attempt greater things. Even for someone who has never been particularly geared towards reality shows of this nature, I've not been bored thus far.

Sure enough, AOTL has already been picked up for a second season in the United States after the season's finale in May. The second cycle will debut in November.

After all, what's not to like about a good underdog story with laugh-out-loud witticisms and beautiful models to boot?

All On The Line airs over Li (Astro Ch 706) on Sunday (10pm), Monday (1am, 8am), Tuesday (3am, 9pm), Wednesday (1am), Thursday (3am), Friday (9pm) and Saturday (1am).

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Rosie's viewers top Oprah on OWN TV launch

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:29 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters): Rosie O'Donnell beat talk show queen Oprah Winfrey on Winfrey's OWN channel, according to viewership figures on Tuesday, as the fledgling cable network launched its new fall season to mixed reviews.

The debut on Monday of "The Rosie Show' - a mixture of chat with first guest Russell Brand, games and music - was seen by 497,000 viewers on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

But thousands of viewers turned channels when it came to Winfrey's new show "Oprah's Lifeclass" - in which she shares insights, lessons and old clips from 25 years of "The Oprah Winfrey Show". Ratings data showed 330,000 Americans watched that show's debut.

Both new series also were aired across five other cable channels operated by OWN's partner, Discovery Communications Inc , reaching a combined total audience of 1.5 million and 1.2 million, respectively.

OWN said audiences for each show were up more than 200 percent from those tuning in a year ago to the Discovery Health network, which OWN has now replaced.

But the numbers were far below the audiences that both O'Donnell and Winfrey, regarded as the most influential woman on U.S. television, used to draw on network television. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" had a regular audience of about 6.4 million U.S. viewers before it ended in May.

OWN president Erik Logan said that the new fall season was "off to an encouraging start. This is the next right step as we continue to build the network."

The two new programs kicked off the second season of OWN after its launch in January 2011 as lifestyle, female-oriented cable channel.

But early audiences soon began changing channels and by July, Winfrey announced she would takeover as CEO of OWN in a bid to refocus the channel's direction and put more of herself on screen.

O'Donnell's new daily evening show marks the return to the TV talk format of the controversial comedian after her Emmy-winning program of the 1990s and a brief stint as co-host on "The View".

But some reviews were as lukewarm as the ratings. The Hollywood Reporter said the show was "ramshackle" and "a little crazy" but called it interesting to watch.

Variety called it "curiously flat and understated", while the Los Angeles Times said "The Rosie Show" had a "not-bad, pretty good, kinda funny, sort of smart debut."

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Four new faces to bring a fresh look to Asia’s first HD lifestyle TV channel

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:07 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: To work with Li (short for Life Inspired) channel is a dream come true for Indonesian Hannah Al Rashid.

"I hope that people will recognise Indonesia more as a lifestyle heaven and a place people identify with good food, good lifestyle and good entertainment," said Hannah, 25, at a chic event held at a hotel here to unveil the channel's new faces in conjunction with its first anniversary in Malaysia.

Besides Hannah, the others revealed were Jason Godfrey from Hong Kong, Angelique Teo from Singapore and David Yee from Malaysia, each to promote events and trends in their respective countries.

Li (on Astro B.yond Ch 706) – Asia's first HD lifestyle TV channel – features five pillars of living – food, home, wellness, travel and style.

The four new faces will host Li's two-minute vignettes called the "Link", which provides exclusive insight about trends across the Asian continent.

Li TV Asia general manager Anne Chan said the aim was to provide a more diversified range of lifestyle programmes.

She said: "The unique personalities of our lifestyle ambassadors will offer viewers the best of Asian lifestyles.

"As Asians are getting more sophisticated, it is important to cover events happening in the region.

"These four hosts will bring the best of Asian living to viewers with discerning needs."

Also present were Star Publications (M) Bhd executive deputy chairman Datuk Vincent Lee, group managing director and chief executive officer Ho Kay Tat, Astro chief operating officer Henry Tan and Astro VP content management group Agnes Rozario.

Star Publications acquired a 51% stake in LI TV Holdings Ltd in July.

"Li has a group of talented people and I am confident that they will make the channel a recognised brand. The Star's investment in Li is to add more media platforms into the group's portfolio," Lee said.

Li is available over 12 pay-TV platforms in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan with viewership of three million.

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Selasa, 11 Oktober 2011